Proudly serving the industry for which it was named for more than 50 years, Outdoor Power Equipment provides dealers who sell and service outdoor power equipment with valuable information to succeed in a competitive market.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/52507
Our business is up significantly, and we want to continue to build on that growth in 2012. going hand-in-hand with this trend. Tradi- tionally, professionals have always bought this equipment, but the use is now spreading down to consumers. Whether professional or homeowner, it's still a winning scenario for dealers because this has created a whole new audience for the product. Many manufactur- ers are recognizing this trend and responding by producing slightly smaller versions of their machines — more of a "consumer grade" yet still built for professional use. 3. What will be the OPE industry's biggest story in 2012? BM:The OPE industry is a major market for Subaru, one of our biggest. However, we also deal with quite a few other industries. I could make my predictions as to what the biggest story will be next year, but I think most dealers would like to hear it from the professionals that are 100-percent focused on the industry, so I'll defer to them on this one. I know I'm interested to find out what these industry experts are anticipating as big in 2012! 4. Who will emerge as the Republi- can Party representative for the 2012 U.S. presidential election? Who will be elected president? How will the out- come of the presidential election im- pact the OPE industry? BM: I think there's a bit of a struggle right now as to who should emerge as the candidate on the Republican Party's ticket, but my personal prediction is Mitt Romney will get the nomination. Now, the big question comes in: Who will be elected? Traditionally, it has always been tougher for a candidate to win over an in- cumbent. But I really feel any of the poten- tial Republican candidates could win. For the health of the OPE industry and the country, I think we need to see a Repub- lican take over office; we need that fiscally conservative leadership. This will put us on the right track for a strong economy and re- covery. The budget will be balanced, spend- ing will decrease, and employment will increase, I have no doubt. I don't think you'll find anyone in the industry that feels the past four years has resulted in anything resembling even mild success. If the Republican Party wants to increase its chances of winning, the campaign strategy has to focus on the results of these past four years. 5. What is your overall outlook for the OPE industry in 2012? BM: Our outlook is very positive for the industry and for our company. It feels really great to say that after the past few years and the feelings of uncertainty and even at best, cautious optimism. For Subaru, we're coming off a great year, and we expect next year to be better. And I don't even just mean on the engine side with our OEM customers, but our generators and pumps as well. Our business is up signifi- cantly, and we want to continue to build on that growth in 2012. OPE OEM Parts and Accessories now available for Dixie Sales Company (800) 753-4943 OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT JANUARY 2012 21